We Don't Belong Here: Thor 2
by TheMostRandomOfRandomWriters
Summary: Ivy knew she would eventually see Loki again after her took control of her mind in New York. It was unavoidable. Just seeing him again would have been problem enough without her friends vanishing through weird portals and her skin glowing and trying to keep herself from changing time. Of course, it would have to be all four.
1. Chapter 1

Alright. Here we go again. Recording yet another one of my adventures. Hi, this is Ivy Williams.

First off, here's a tip for anyone who wants to travel to England. _Don't_ travel with _Dr. Who_ fans. They'll spend the whole time trying to bribe your chaperones to let them explore London and look for a blue police box. Or Cybermen. Or Daleks. Or whatever.

Not that I don't like the Doctor. He's a good friend to have around when you need him. But when all your roommate Sharon can do is talk about the new Marvel movie which she's planning to see for her birthday and the 50th anniversary of _Dr. Who_, and you've met both Thor, Loki, and the Doctor and you have a whole bunch of issues you're dealing with that are connected with them… yeah. So, just consider that.

So I went England with my choir just around the time _Thor 2_ came out. And, Sharon being the Loki fangirl she is, asked if we could celebrate her birthday by letting us go watch it during one of our days which were free of performances.

As the movie first began, I felt nervous, but everything seemed fine. Upon Frigga's death, however, I knew that this would not be find. Absolutely not.

I heard Sharon sobbing over Loki's death at the end of the row. I buried my face in my hands so no one could see my reaction – I didn't know what to think or feel.

When we discovered Loki was still alive, I nearly screamed.

The whole movie was an emotional rollercoaster for me – one moment, I'd be laughing at the jokes, almost able to forget what was going to happen, then something awful would happen again. I was glad that the theater was dark. Otherwise, people would probably have noticed that something was wrong with me.

As we exited the theater and filed out onto the sidewalk, an arm wrapped around my shoulders.

"Are you okay?" asked Miranda in a low voice.

"That was _awesome_!" squealed Sharon, cutting off my answer. "Not enough Loki though. What do you think, Ivy?" She turned toward me, then frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I replied. Physically, anyhow. "Just… not feeling too great. What was your favorite bit?"

"The scene where they're flying that alien ship, definitely. The Captain America cameo was great too."

"Yeah, that was cool," I said. I hadn't seen Cap since the invasion of New York, but he was probably busy. It was nice to see him again like that, though, even if it wasn't really him.

It was just me, Sharon, and Miranda who had gone to celebrate – she doesn't have that many friends in the choir, probably because most of the girls there hang out with their own friends from school, while she's homeschooled. It's a shame more people don't talk to her, she's incredibly nice.

"Oh!" I said. "Happy birthday, Sharon."

I pulled out of my bag a gift I'd forgotten to give her earlier – a long scarf, emerald green with fringe on the had helped me finish it earlier in the day, giving me instructions over Skype.

"Oh, thank you, it's gorgeous," said Sharon, wrapping it around her neck. "How does it look?"

"Great," I said as we crossed the street.

Car brakes squealed.

I spun around just in time to see a car halt a few feet away.

The driver climbed out.

"Sorry, I'm just getting used to driving around here!" said a woman with brown hair who looked like Darcy Lewis.

Sharon jumped back a foot on seeing her.

I exchanged glances with Miranda.

"You all okay?" asked the Darcy look-alike.

"Yes," said our chaperone. "You're American?"

"Yeah. You are too?" she said.

Sharon was still staring.

I grabbed her elbow. "Let's… go to the other side of the street, Sharon." Before she completely and utterly ruined everything.


	2. Chapter 2

Ivy here, narrating this bit of the recording.

We made it to the van we'd driven to the theater without further incident. I retrieved my knitting from the back seat as I slid in.

"You're just turning out all sorts of stuff now that you've finally managed to get the knit/purl thing right," said Sharon. "Beautiful scarf, by the way, thank you so much." She fingered the edge as she spoke.

"Yeah. I'm making myself a hat now."

We drove in silence for a while.

"I love what you've been doing with your hair lately, by the way," said Sharon.

All I'd really done with it was let it grow a little, but that's Sharon for you. Always so nice. "If I had hair that nice, I'd grow it longer. I mean, my hair _is_ long, but you've let it grow out longer lately. Like the Black Widow. You know, from the Avengers."

I'd tried being more relaxed lately – Sharon being around had helped a lot, she's always so relaxed and happy. Relaxing meant spending a little time doing things I enjoyed instead of training or working on school and that I'd started to wear jewelry and grown my hair a little longer. Those things might sound like they'd be pretty normal for a sixteen year old girl, but I'm _not_ normal.

I suddenly realized it looked as if we were approaching the outside of the city. Which _wasn't_ where our hotel was.

"Are we lost?" asked Sharon.

"Um… I don't know," admitted the chaperone. "I was trying to find a shortcut."

The engine of the van suddenly died. Of course.

The chaperone drifted the van over to the shoulder. "Everybody out," she said with a sigh. "There's some buildings over there, let's see if there's anywhere there so we can call them and tell them what happened."

Some buildings that looked an awful lot like the ones in _Thor 2_ where they found that energy source or whatever it was. Great, just great.

I climbed out.

"Are you okay?" asked Sharon. "You look sick."

"I'm _fine_!" I snapped. "Sorry. Maybe I'm not fine. Let's head over to those buildings." No use postponing the inevitable. Might as well get it over with.

The police cars already were all over the place. We'd been lost for a long time, longer than I thought. Darcy stood at the edge of the parking lot. She turned around as we approached. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"We… got lost. And our van broke down."

"A friend of mine is missing. We were here and now she's gone and I don't know what happened and there's some kind of gravity thing going on and –"

"Darcy! Did you call them?"

Dr. Jane Foster strode toward us.

Sharon made a small squeaking sound. She was going to completely blow my secret. At almost the worst time possible. I shot a desperate look at Miranda. She made no response.

And then a miracle happened. It started to rain.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Miranda grab Sharon's hand and start to pull her away. My heart thudded against my ribs. I tried to still my shaking hands. Last time, I'd had some time to think over what to do. This time, I'd only had a few hours. My body had frozen with indecision – run, try to avoid everything, or stay and take it. I like to think I'm not a coward. I try to behave as if I'm not one.

The rain stopped pelting me.

"Are you okay?" asked a voice.

My gaze jerked up from the pavement to meet Dr. Foster's. "Yeah. Yeah. Just… don't feel great." My stomach churned and I wanted to throw up. Yeah, I'd say that saying I don't feel well would be pretty honest.

I glanced up at the blue sky, the rain clouds forming an open circle around us, but made no comment.

A movement caught my attention. Behind several metal containers stood Thor, in full armor.

Well, I guess any choice I had in this situation just made itself.


	3. Chapter 3

Ivy here.

Dr. Foster began to walk towards Thor.

Instantly, rain began to pelt us again. I pulled up the hood of my jacket.

"Typical," said Darcy.

I stood there, in the rain watching. Would he even recognize me? It had been a year his time, a year and a half my time, since we'd seen each other, and he'd barely met me. On the other hand, people seem to remember me. I think it's the red hair. And my ability to travel between universes doesn't exactly hurt.

The rain stopped. I pulled off my hood.

Thor turned slightly in my direction. Then his gaze fixed on me. I was caught. He strode forward toward me. "What are you doing here?"

"Our van broke down. We ended up here. It's good to see you again, Thor."

"Wait, you know her?" said Dr. Foster.

"She was involved with S.H.I.E.L.D before the invasion," said Thor.

"It's very complicated," I said, before she could ask how in the world a sixteen year old girl could be involved with S.H.I.E.L.D. "My name's Ivy, by the way. Ivy Williams."

"Dr. Jane Foster. Though if you're with S.H.I.E.L.D. you probably know everything about me by now."

"I'm _involved_ with S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm not _with_ them." If that makes sense. "I have certain… abilities that make me interesting to them."

"You have superpowers?"

"I certainly wouldn't call them _powers_, but I have abilities, yes."

One of the policemen walked up to her and started saying she was trespassing. He grabbed her arm. Bright red exploded out from her.

Bright blue flashed in front of my eyes. I fell backwards with a shriek.

I stood up slowly. Everyone was staring at her. My attention was instead diverted to my hands. Long, Tesseract blue sparks traveled up my hands, my arms. This was new.

Hello, this is Miranda.

We had left the van after it stopped raining and had returned on Sharon's insistence. I had tried to talk her out of it, but Sharon is stubborn when she wants something.

"Miranda," she said, on the way back. "That girl who nearly hit us, the one who's here now… does she look familiar to you?"

"I don't think I'd ever met her before, no," I replied.

"But from somewhere else, maybe? You and Ivy have been acting weird ever since we walked out of the theater. Since when does Ivy let people touch her?"

"Ivy's… had some stuff happen to her over the last few years. It makes her uncomfortable with physical contact from most people. It's nothing personal." We rounded a corner.

Everyone was staring at Dr. Foster. Thor was walking up behind her. Ivy stood a few yards away from Dr. Foster and Thor. Her skin sparked blue, her veins glowed blue. Clearly, we'd missed something.

Ivy took a step back on seeing me coming toward her. "No, Miranda, don't touch me."

Thor eyed us both. I'd met him once after the New York incident. He'd come to Ivy and me afterwards, apologizing about what Loki had done to us both. Yes, I know the recording we did about everything later didn't mention that. I edited it out because it made our recording too long.

She glanced to Thor. "Do you have any idea what's causing this?"

He studied her for a moment, then grabbed her arm, pulling her toward him, doing the same to Dr. Foster.

"They're dangerous!" yelled a policeman.

"So am I," replied Thor.

A flash of light and they were gone.


	4. Chapter 4

Ivy here.

We shot upwards, surrounded by a blur of color. A bright light flashed. My feet hit the floor.

"We have got to do that again," said Dr. Foster.

My body was on autopilot, my mind was whirring. It was too soon. I hadn't had any time to figure out what to do, how to cope.

Thor's mother was going to die if I didn't do or say anything.

I'd promised myself that I could do this. That everything had to run according to the way it had happened in the stories – no changes that were unnecessary. But should I let someone die so it can happen?

If I didn't let it happen, I could alter everything, could ruin everything.

If I let it happen… I would be responsible, indirectly. Thor and/or Loki would probably kill me. They knew about my ability and would blame me.

"Welcome to Asgard," said a voice.

There was no getting out of it now.

Miranda here.

Sharon stared at the place Ivy had vanished from. "Excuse me," she mumbled, turned, and ran.

I ran after her. What would Ivy do? Ivy would tell her the truth. The whole truth.

I found Sharon in the van, arms wrapped around herself, muttering under her breath. She looked crazy – she probably thought she was.

"Look, Sharon. What you saw there…" I paused, searching for the right words.

Sharon looked up, frowning, her face unnaturally white. "What do you mean?"

I climbed in and sat down next to her. "There's something I need to tell you about Ivy."

Hi. I'm Sharon. This is so weird, narrating like this. Miranda told me to tell it as well and I remember and spare no details. So… okay. Here I go, wish me luck.

Miranda slid into the seat next to me. "There's something I need to tell you about Ivy. You've heard about what happened to Ivy and me at that retreat?"

I'd heard stories about Miranda going missing while on a walk in the woods and Ivy leaving the retreat shortly afterwards. No one really seemed to know what had happened.

Ivy had always been nice to me, if weirdly protective and sometimes grouchy. She had paid attention to me when I first came to choir and didn't know anyone. She'd been quiet, unsmiling, and had always been very aware of her surroundings. She'd actually changed a lot over the past few months ago. She'd started smiling and talking a lot more – I supposed she was just the sort of person who took a while to warm up to people.

"Well…" said Miranda, taking a deep breath. "She has a… special ability. She can travel between universes. She's taken you to one where _Thor 2_ and Marvel stuff is real. Not on purpose, she'd never do it on purpose. But she can't really control it, so…"

I stared down at my hands, resting next to the fringe of the emerald green scarf Ivy had given me, considering for a moment. There weren't really that many other explanations for what had happened, and yet my mind refused to accept the one I was given. "Yeah, right."

"Would you believe it if Ivy told you it was true?"

I considered. Ivy was the most truthful person I knew. But if this was true, it meant she wasn't anymore. That she'd been lying to us, at the very least, not being honest with us. My mind couldn't wrap itself around that. "I don't know," I replied. "I need some fresh air." I slid out of the van and walked away.

If she was telling the truth – which I doubted – That would mean Loki was real. That my crush on Loki… all my talk about him just being misunderstood… this piece of information would change everything.

The wind seemed to grow stronger, blowing me forward. No… _pulling_ me forward?

Behind me, Miranda screamed.

I tried to turn, but then was suddenly standing in a dark cave. Svartalfheim. Maybe there'd been some truth in what she said after all.

I screamed and collapsed to my knees. My vision went blurry. "No no no," I said. "This isn't happening. This isn't…" And then I fainted.


	5. Chapter 5

Miranda here.

I jumped out of the van and ran toward the place where Sharon had vanished. The air rippled slightly where she'd been, then went still.

I halted. No, going through the portal wouldn't help – what if I couldn't get back?

I began thinking – according to my friend Jack, it's one of the things I do best. And in that moment, I'd never needed to do a quicker job.

Sharon was probably freaking out, but she had a cell phone. And cell phones worked if a person were close enough to the portal…

My parents got me a phone after I went mysteriously missing – I've already explained about that. Ivy's parents got her one too. I dialed Sharon's number.

She didn't pick up.

"Brilliant," I mumbled, shoving mine back into my pocket.

Should I go through the portal? What would happen if I did? What would happen if I didn't? If we were both stuck where ever it brought us, no one would know where we were if we couldn't back for some reason.

I had to make a decision, and make it fast.

I stepped through the portal, praying I wouldn't regret this choice.

I found Sharon pretty quick – in fact, I tripped over her when I stepped through the portal.

I dropped down next to her, grabbing her arm and gently shaking her. "Hey, Sharon. It's Miranda."

She moved slightly and groaned. "You were right," she mumbled. "You're always right. How do you do it?"

"Practice." I pulled her onto her feet, gazing around the cave. It looked like one of the ones in the Dark Elves world. Not that that mattered. I wasn't staying. "Come on, let's go." I walked her forward, back to the portal, and through the spot where it _had_ been.

We were still in the cave.

I walked back and forth, practically having to drag her with me as I did so, trying to find it again. "Where _is_ it?" I muttered to myself.

I could see my footprints in the dirt all over the place, leading nowhere.

I let go of Sharon, setting her down next to the wall. "We're stuck," I said. "It's gone."

Sharon groaned.

"Look," I said. "We're going to be fine. I don't know how, but I can figure out something, I'm sure." I pulled out my cell phone and dialed the number of the one person I could trust who was still on Earth, praying that I could reach him.

"Hello," said Jack's voice.

"Jack? It's Miranda. I –"

"I'm not able to answer my phone right now, but if you leave a message I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

"Hey, it's Miranda. Please call me back, _soon_. It's _really_ important. I miss you. Bye."


	6. Chapter 6

Ivy here.

In case you didn't notice when you were watching _Thor _or _Thor 2_, Asgard's a pretty cool place. I noticed even when I was worried about why in the world my skin was developing blue sparks – which didn't subside. My skin kept right on glowing and producing sparks. On the bright side – I didn't meant to make that pun, stop laughing! – if the glow kept up, it would save me from ever having to buy a flashlight or worry about power outages.

Anyhow. Asgard. Right.

I stood watching as some of the Asgardians examined Dr. Foster. A few of them cast curious glances at me, but said nothing – she was Thor's priority.

"Before I left Midgard, I learned that you have… special powers," said Thor. "Does this have anything to do with them?"

"I don't know," I replied. Hopefully, they'd be able to figure it out here, or the Doctor would come and explain.

"On Midgard, my brother did some very terrible things to you."

That pretty much summed it up. He set the whole thing off indirectly when Hawkeye under mind control attacked me and Miranda – Miranda didn't get away and, though she's never given any details about what happened, I'm pretty sure it wasn't pleasant. After that, he stabbed me and took control of my mind and tried to make me kill someone, then kill myself. Fortunately, I didn't quite manage to do it. I never thought failure could be a good thing.

"I wanted to apologize for my brother's actions," said Thor.

"Thank you," I said.

I've never really held grudges for long. I've been told my whole life to forgive people for what they do, no matter what. But this wasn't something a person forgets. This was a little harder than, say, forgiving my brother for borrowing something without permission.

An apology from Loki certainly would help the process. But after what was about to happen, I rather doubted I'd get that apology.

"Are my words mere noises to you that you ignore them completely?"

I turned in the direction of the voice, already knowing who it was.

"She's ill," said Thor.

His father walked towards him. "She's mortal. Illness is their defining trait."

"I brought her here because we can help her," said Thor.

Odin paused, eyeing me. My skin still sparked Tesseract blue. He said nothing to me or about me – it was apparently pretty clear why I was here. Or maybe he was just more concerned about Dr. Foster at the moment.

"She does not belong here in Asgard any more than a goat belongs at a banquet table."

Ouch.

Dr. Foster looked ticked. "Did he just…"

"He's Thor's dad," I muttered to her.

"Oh."

Thor's father motioned for guards. One reached out toward us.

I ducked, but wasn't fast enough to avoid the wall of red slamming into me.

Blue exploded in front of my eyes, out from me. I landed hard on the floor.

There was silence for a moment.

"Come with me," said Odin.


	7. Chapter 7

Ivy here.

For those of you who have seen _Thor 2_, you'll know about the whole Dark Elves thing. If you don't, here's a quick recap – somehow, there were these Elves who existed before the universe did. Which, in my opinion, is ridiculous. How can life have existed before anything else did? Anyhow, they were defeated by Thor's grandfather, haven't been heard from since. The Aether that they had was concealed somewhere, until Dr. Foster stumbled across it. You can always find more information on the internet. Or you can just watch _Thor 2_. Whichever.

Thor's dad read all of this to us from a book.

"Does your book happen to say how to get this out me?" asked Dr. Foster. "Or why it's making her skin do that?"

"No."

It would be a perfect time for the Doctor to show up and explain… but he'd come when he came, and when he did, I hoped he'd bring Clara. After what I'd seen in the Dr. Who episodes I watched with Miranda and Jack, I already liked her.

Miranda here.

Sharon eventually started to recover from her shock. She got up and started walking around.

"Don't you want to see what's out there?" she asked, motioning to the entrance of the cave.

"I've already seen it and I wasn't that impressed by anything except how empty it is. Besides, what we'll find if we go out will probably be unpleasant."

She turned around to look at me. "So… Marvel's real. Loki's real. As are the Avengers."

I nodded.

She took several deep breaths. Her face was white as chalk.

"Everything's going to be okay," I told her. "Jack will call me back and we'll figure out something."

"Doesn't Ivy have a phone?"

"Yes, but…" I hesitated. Ivy had enough problems without my calling her and telling her we were trapped on a different planet. Or whatever this was.

Hey, this is Jack.

I didn't answer the phone the first time because I was in the middle of packing for a trip my family was going on – my family being myself and Mom – and I'd turned my phone off.

When I was done, I found that Miranda called me and called her back.

"Jack!" she practically yelled. "Oh, thank God. Where were you?"

"Home. We don't leave until tomorrow. Where are you?"

"Svartalfheim. Ivy's on Asgard, and we somehow went through a portal to get here, but now we can't get back."

I nearly dropped my phone. "Does Ivy know you're there? And who's 'we'?"

"I think we both know that it she's probably got enough issues without having to worry about me. And we means me and Sharon."

It was nice of Miranda to care about Ivy like that. But Ivy would want to know if something had happened to Miranda.

The doorbell rang downstairs.

I headed to the window to see how important the visitor was. Standing outside was… was that Agent Coulson? And Agent Ward?

"I have two S.H.I.E.L.D agents at the front door," I said. "I'll take the phone down with me." I headed downstairs. For a moment, I stood before the door, then took a deep breath and opened it. "Hi," I said.

"Hello. Are you Jack Lewis?" said Agent Coulson.

"Yes, Sir."

"I'm Agent Phil Coulson from Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division, and this is Agent Grant Ward. I believe you have a friend named Ivy Williams?"

"Yes. And yes, I know about her 'special abilities'."

"Good. That makes things a bit easier."


	8. Chapter 8

Still Jack here.

"So she's on Asgard?" said Agent Coulson. "And there's there more people in… Svartalfheim?"

"Translates to 'the dark world' in Norse, I think," said Miranda from the phone lying on the table.

Hence the title "Thor: The Dark World".

"Are you in any immediate danger?" asked Coulson. "Is your friend okay?"

"Yes."

"Is there anything we should know?" asked Agent Ward. "About anything that might be happening soon?"

I glanced down at the phone.

What would Ivy want us to do?

I mentally went over the plot of _Thor 2_. Anything crucial would have happened before the final battle, which be the only part they could affect.

"Miranda?" I said.

"In a few days, I'm unsure of when exactly, some… interesting things will happen in London," said Miranda. "I can't give you too many further details, but Thor will be there and it's going to go very badly."

Agents Coulson and Ward exchanged glances. Probably not what they wanted to hear.

'Thank you for telling us," said Agent Coulson, standing up. "Miss Pond? We'll contact Ivy and let her know about your problem – I'm sorry there's nothing more we can do."

"No!" protested Miranda. "Ivy couldn't do anything to help us, and she's got enough stuff she's dealing with right now."

Ward stood up and followed him to the door. "Thank you for your help."

Ivy was going to be _so_ ticked if she found out. And she would find out. So I should probably start running now.

I sat at the table and kept talking with Miranda.

The things that have been around since I can remember: Mom, gadgets, Miranda. Miranda is the only reason I've ever passed English. And the only reason I survived the time we had to read _Wuthering Heights_ for English. Dumbest book I've ever read. As a piece of literature, it's interesting, I guess. But all I could think of while I was reading the story was how evil and petty the characters seemed to be and how much I wanted the story to end.

Sharon, of all people, is giving me a dirty look, while Miranda is nodding eagerly in agreement.

Anyhow, I don't know what I'd do without her. Without her incessant chatter about whatever book she was reading and the _Dr. Who_ marathons she seems to have every month. Without her hanging around when I'm working on something, pointing out all the things that I didn't notice about my current project. Having her second opinion on everything is great.

You never really realize just how much you depend on something until you risk losing it, do you?


	9. Chapter 9

Ivy here.

I really started to miss wearing jeans after walking around in Asgardian clothes for a while. They were beautiful clothes, but the long skirts were more than a bit of a tripping hazard for someone who wasn't used to them.

I followed along behind Thor and Dr. Foster. They talked in voices too soft for me to hear them. They paused for a moment next to a railing, still talking.

Dr. Foster and I attracted plenty of curious looks, but no one approached us.

"My father does not know everything," said Thor.

"Do not let him hear you say that," said a voice behind us.

I turned to see Thor's mother.

At that moment, something twisted in my stomach and I wanted to throw up. I didn't know what to do. I thought I'd come to terms with what I'd decided. But until now, I'd never had to face it like this. I tried to open my mouth, to say something, but my tongue felt refused to move. My heart thudded against my ribcage and I felt sick.

"Mother," said Thor. "Jane, Ivy, this is my mother."

"Hi," said Jane.

"Hello," I pushed out.

I've never been very good at hiding my emotions or thoughts. But at that moment my body was on autopilot, doing the normal things it would upon meeting someone – smiling, saying something about it being a pleasure to meet her. She didn't seem to be picking up on anything strange in my behavior.

If Thor's dad didn't kill me, then either he or Loki would. But what was I supposed to do? I'd prayed over my non-interference rule. I'd thought I was doing what was right. But letting someone die would be nearly the same as putting the knife in them myself. Wouldn't it? But if she didn't die…

A horn sounded. The attack. Because it would impossible to cut me some slack, even for a minute.

"Go. I'll look after them," said Frigga.

He left.

She led us in the direction he had headed.

"What's happening?" asked Dr. Foster.

"An attack."

I followed them through the streets back to the palace. To say I did a lot of thinking on the way to there would be a hilarious understatement. I believe I've laid out my dilemma already. Now, find me an answer, would you?

Commitments are so easy to make – not always so easy to keep.

I'd considered warning her, talking to her about it, then had discarded the idea. Imagine how to bring up _that_ subject. On one hand, she might consent to hide until it was over. On the other hand, it could mess up the timeline later, since Loki would be alive afterward, pretending to be her husband.

We entered the palace, meeting Thor and his father in a hallway.

"Stay with them," Odin ordered Frigga.

"Be careful."

"After 5000 years of survival through war, my wife still worries about me."

"It's only because I still worry about you that you have survived 5000 years," she replied.

Their exchange was only a few sentences. But, somehow, it made what I would have to do much harder.

The two men left.

"Listen to me now. I need you to do everything I ask – no questions," said Frigga.


	10. Chapter 10

Ivy here.

She led us to a large room. There was a balcony on one side. Outside, explosions were visible, as were flying objects too far away to make out. "Stand here," Frigga ordered Dr. Foster, placing her in a corner next to the doorway. "I'm going to create an image of you."

As she did so, I walked toward the balcony, heart pounding, mind whirling.

"Ivy." Her voice called me back. "After Loki's war on Midgard, we have kept watch on you. They told us that you have the ability to see the future."

"Whoa, wait," said Dr. Foster. "You can see the future? How is that even possible?"

"To say I see the future isn't completely true, but basically, it's true, yes. I'll explain at some point when Asgard isn't under attack." Hopefully.

"I understand how you have chosen to handle your power. Knowledge of the future is often harmful. But… my son. Loki. Will he…"

I didn't see the harm in telling her. "He'll survive the attack."

She relaxed visibly, then paused, as if debating how to say her next words. "Thor told us of what my son did to you. I would like to offer an apology for his actions."

"It's unnecessary, but thank you."

"As to the rest… please remember that our choices are our own to make and that any consequences resulting from them are not your fault. The choices you make are difficult, but I believe the approach you've chosen to take is the best one."

She must have guessed. That's all I can how I was acting or something, that something was going to happen to her. I don't know how, but it's the only explanation I could come up with. "Thank you," I said.

"Now go," ordered Frigga.

We obeyed, heading around the corner.

Jack here.

I slammed my screwdriver into the grass in frustration. I couldn't focus on _anything_. Not packing, not my watch that I was trying to disassemble. I'd moved out into the front yard, hoping the air might help me think more clearly. Miranda said that was what it did for her. "What a mess," I muttered. "What a stupid, stupid, stupid mess."

Inside the phone rang. I dashed inside to answer.

The caller didn't waste any time with greetings. "This is Agent Natasha Romanoff. Do you know where Ivy is?"

I nearly dropped the phone. "Oh! Uh… yeah. She's in Asgard."

Agent Romanoff said something in Russian. "How'd she get there? Is she in any danger?"

"With Thor. As far as I know, no danger." I doubted that would long remain the case.

"Thank you." The line cut off.

All the worry about Ivy. None about Miranda and Sharon, stuck in the Dark Elves realm. I dialed Miranda's number again.

Miranda here.

I pulled out my phone and answered.

"Jack?" My voice echoed less because I was at the mouth of the cave.

Sharon walked toward the back of the cave again. She was still looking for that portal back home. As if it would make everything okay again.

"Hi, Miranda. It's good to hear your voice."

"Believe me, it's better to hear yours."

At the back of the cave, Sharon let out a gasp.

I turned in time to see her dissolve into nothing. I screamed and ran to the spot. Absolutely nothing. No matter where I looked, still no portal for me. "Sharon's gone, went through a portal, but it isn't there anymore," I reported.

"Are you okay?" asked Jack.

I'd had enough. "No! No I'm not! I'm scared and trapped and alone and I don't know what to do!" I finally screamed. I sank down at the back of the cave and cried. It didn't matter anymore. The only person to hear it was Jack, and he'd never think the less of me for it. "I want to go home," I sobbed.

"I know," said Jack. "And you will. I promise."


	11. Chapter 11

Ivy here again.

I crouched down behind a statue. I may have made peace with myself over what would happen, but Thor and everyone was going to hate me for it. I would have to hide, have to find a way off of Asgard… if I was lucky enough to find one, that is.

I would happily have put myself in her place if it meant she could live. But if she did live, it could destroy the timeline. Malekith could win, if Loki had nothing to motivate him. I doubted that my death would do anything except make my least favorite Asgardian happy.

Shouting in Dark Elf announced Malekith's entrance. I could hear his voice, but not distinguish his words.

Thor appeared next to us. I'd never felt so sick in my life, knowing what happened next.

Sounds of a fight ensued. I could still stop this.

"Where is she?" yelled Malekith.

"I'll never tell you."

"I believe you."

She screamed. And it was done.

Thor lunged forward, yelling. Dr. Foster followed him.

If Thor didn't kill me after she died, Odin probably would. And if he didn't, Loki would. And if he didn't, someone else would doubtless be ticked off enough to kill me.

I turned and ran.

Have you ever looked for something, then realized it was right where it was supposed to be?

I decided to take a chance and hid in the prisons. With the whole place in disorder after the attack, it wasn't difficult to slip in and find a secluded area. No one seemed to have followed me – they were probably too busy trying to save Frigga.

I sunk down behind a pile of sacks and buried my face in my hands.

Footsteps sounded in the hall. "I know you're back here," said a female voice. Sif. "Thor sent me."

And Thor probably wanted to kill me for what I'd done. Still, she probably would hunt until she found me. I scrambled out from behind the sacks.

"How'd you know I was here?"

"Heimdall told us."

I mentally face palmed. I'd forgotten about him. "They all must want to kill me."

She frowned. "Why?"

She didn't know about me. Right. Couldn't forget that. "Because I'm indirectly responsible for Frigga's death. She was trying to protect us." She must think I was hiding partly because of that, and partly because of what Odin might do to me because of it.

"No one blames you for what was beyond your control, Thor says that both the Tesseract and the Aether are mixing in your body, and you should not be held responsible for any decisions you make in that condition," said Sif. "Thor's father wants to have you imprisoned with the other mortal until he can figure out what to do with you. Thor plans to leave Asgard with her, to draw Malekith away. And he will bring you too."

Why they call us mortals is beyond my comprehension. They die just like we do, they just live way longer.

"You are to stay down here until someone comes to fetch you. Don't wander or someone might see you." She left silently.

I wasn't planning to wander. I really wasn't. But something strange drew me just around the corner, just planning to take a look and come right back.

The cell around the corner was brightly lit, with glass walls. And guess who was in it?

Yeah. Loki.

**Thank you for the reviews on my last chapter!**

**Iris Sanchez 125: Thank you for your review and kind words, as well as pointing out that I had posted those chapters twice! I've fixed that, and have replaced chapter 9 with the chapter that's supposed to be there.**


	12. Chapter 12

Ivy here. Because you really don't think I'd leave you hanging like that?

Well, yeah, actually, I would, but on with the story.

Loki noticed me immediately. He walked forward across his tidy cell, smirking. "You're here? I shouldn't be surprised."

I felt eerily calm. "Loki. You may drop the illusions, I know you're not as composed as you'd lead me to think."

He didn't. He snorted and sat down in front of the glass, facing me.

Here I was expecting him to yell at me, to hate me. But instead he just stares?

I sat down cross legged, my dark blue dress rustling against the stones.

"If you think not being hostile will lull me into a sense of false security, then you're wrong. The only reason I'm still here is because I wanted to say I'm sorry for your loss."

His expression changed for a moment – ever so slightly. "Why would you be sorry? You probably thought it would be a good way to take revenge for what I did to you. I don't blame you. But it failed, you know. Because she wasn't my mother."

"It wasn't revenge, Loki. If you knew what I did, you might think differently of me. I can't change time – I tried to do the right thing."

"I tried to do the right thing, once. I knew what would happen if Thor became king, and tried to change it. Look where it got me. But you know this, of course."

The startling words made me sit back in surprise.

This wasn't how I imagined meeting Loki again. I'd expected anger on both my side and his. Not this. I did feel dislike, distrust, but not the burning hate I'd expected.

"For someone who once tried to do the right thing, you've come a long way." I was still healing and coming to terms with what I'd nearly done under his control.

"I suppose you want some sort of apology for what I did."

"It'd be nice, but I'm not expecting anything."

"Good. Because I don't regret my actions on Midgard."

"How disappointed your mother would be to hear it, though I don't think she'd be surprised. Don't tell me she wasn't your mother, Loki. I think we both know better." I stood. "Again, I'm sorry for your loss."

"_Don't tell me you're sorry_!"

I jumped back at his words.

"You killed her," he seethed. "Not Malekith. You."

I began to back away instinctively.

"You," he repeated.

I threw my hands over my ears and ran. Because that's what I always do with my problems. I run away from hem.

I ran to my hiding place and curled up, trembling, my hands still over my ears. I'd thought I'd had it bad with my special abilities before. Turns out, I didn't even have a clue about how bad it could be.

One thing people always told me was to do the right thing, no matter how unpopular it was. Unfortunately, they didn't tell me what to do if the right thing wasn't clear.

I lay behind the sacks, listening to footsteps, breathing as quietly as possible, ignoring my growling stomach and trying to ignore all the thoughts racing through my head.

I actually somehow managed to fall asleep eventually. In my dreams, I stood in front of Loki's cell. He banged his fists on the glass, trying to get at me. My body seemed frozen.

He broke through the glass and wrapped his hands around my throat. I gasped and choked, kicking at his legs, clawing at his hands. He tightened his grip, screaming and cursing at me.

"You killed her!"

And then Thor was there too, yelling the same things.

The room began to grow dim. I couldn't scream. I couldn't breathe.

Something slammed into me and I woke up. I sat up, glancing around. Sharon lay in front of me, her face white.


	13. Chapter 13

Hey. Still Ivy.

There was a moment of silence.

"What are you doing here? Where am I?" asked Sharon, her voice rising.

I put a hand over her mouth so no one would hear her. "Sh."

She stopped talking.

I pulled her down next to me. "How'd you get here?"

"A portal, I think, I don't know, Miranda's there –"

I grabbed her arms. "Slowly. Start from the beginning."

Sharon obeyed. I listened without saying anything, trying not to betray my emotions and probably failing.

"You've been hiding a lot," finished Sharon. "I mean, everyone says something happened to you, but I don't think any of them thought it would be this big. After today, I don't think I'll ever really be surprised by anything again."

"I didn't think it would be a good idea to tell everyone that I can travel between universes."

What to do with Sharon? I couldn't leave her here, but taking her with us… too much could go wrong. Way too much.

Sharon here.

We sat in silence for a while.

Footsteps thudded on the stone floor, echoing off the stone walls.

Ivy jerked into alertness, her hand going into the pocket of her jacket.

Thor appeared in front of us. He didn't look surprised at seeing me. "Come," he said.

Ivy stood up. I wouldn't have been a bit surprised to find out that she had a weapon in her jacket. Knowing her, something legal, but very, very unpleasant.

"This is Sharon," said Ivy. "She got here through some sort of portal."

He led us down the hall. "Heimdall told me of her arrival. She is a friend of yours?"

Ivy nodded. "I don't know how it happened. Now would be a perfect time for the Doctor to show up."

I stopped. "The _Doctor_?"

"Keep moving," she ordered, grabbing my arm and pulling me along behind her.

We entered a small room with a cell. And sitting in the cell was… guess who.

If this were a cheesy fanfiction, I would be struck by how good looking Loki was, with his jet black hair, green eyes…

[Oh, come on, Miranda, admit it, Tom Hiddleston is _very_ good looking.]

Since this _wasn't_ a cheesy fanfiction, I had a lot conflicting thoughts like, _He's the guy who killed a lot of people and seems to have wrecked Ivy's life_, _He's just trying to be his brother's equal_, and, I'll admit, _Oh, wow, he's even better looking in person_.

Ivy's face seemed to have grown much paler since I'd last glanced at her.

"Are you okay?" I asked in a low voice as Thor released Loki.

She shook her head.

Loki eyed me, but said nothing. He turned to Ivy. "Surprisingly, my brother has not murdered you for what you did."

She leaned in, speaking in a voice too soft for Thor to hear. "Surprisingly, I haven't told him about some things that would completely ruin your future if he did know."

He raised his eyebrows but said nothing. "Who's your friend?"

"Sharon," I replied before she could say anything.

"You've switched companions."

"I don't have a companion, this isn't _Dr. Who_."


	14. Chapter 14

Ivy here.

You ever met someone who just loves the sound of their own voice? Loki is one of those people, as it turns out. By the time we were back at the palace, he'd managed to insult every single Avenger, talk about how he'd like to hire me as a lantern, and generally tick me off. "This is so unlike you, brother. So... clandestine. Are you sure you wouldn't rather punch your way out?"

"If you keep speaking, I just might."

"Fine, as you wish. I'm not even here." Loki turned himself into a guard. "Is this better?"

"It's better company, at least."

"Still, we could be less conspicuous."

Thor sudden turned into Sif.

"You look lovely, Brother."

"It will hurt no less when I kill you in this form."

"Very well. Perhaps you would prefer one of your new companions, give that you seem to like them so much." Loki turned into Captain America. "Oh, this is much better. Whoa, costume's a bit much. So tight. But the confidence, I can feel the righteousness surging."

Sharon and I grinned at each other.

"Hey, want to have a rousing discussion about truth, honor, patriotism? God bless America –" He was cut off by Thor shoving him against a pillar and covering his mouth.

Two guards strode past.

"You could at least furnish me with a weapon," said Loki. "My dagger, something."

Thor pulled something out of his cloak.

"At last, a little common sense," began Loki, before Thor snapped a pair of Asgardian handcuffs onto Loki's wrists.

"I thought you liked tricks," said Thor. He laughed, then turned to me and pressed a small knife into my hand. "I trust you know how to use this?"

"Passably. Thank you."

We met Dr. Foster and Sif in the hall.

"I'm Loki," said my least favorite Asgardian, starting forward toward Dr. Foster. "Perhaps you've heard of me."

She confirmed this by slapping him.

We followed Sif to the hall with the alien ship and climbed inside. Thor stared around at the controls, clearly not knowing what to do.

"I thought you said you knew how to fly this," said Loki.

"I said 'how hard could it be'." He glanced over at me. I shrugged.

Dr. Foster sat down. "Who's this?" she asked, indicating Sharon.

"A friend. It's complicated." Outside, I heard shouting and running footsteps. "It's okay. We're going to be okay," I said to Sharon. "Everything is going to be fine."

"This would be part of your whole 'seeing the future thing'?" asked Dr. Foster. "You knew she was going to die, didn't you?"

I said nothing. The back closed up and the ship began to rise and instantly began crashing into the pillars around us. "I think you missed a column," said Loki. The ship pulled forward, slowly then taking off, breaking through the wall of the palace. "Look, why don't you let me take over, I'm clearly the better pilot," said Loki.

"Is that right? Well, out of the two of us, which one of us can actually fly?"

Technically neither, seeing as Thor owes his ability to fly to a hammer and none of his own abilities.

He dodged down suddenly. The ship flew forward, turning and swerving to avoid buildings. A wing hit a tower. The collision rocked the ship. "Not a word," warned Thor.

Dr. Foster, next to us, suddenly lay down. Sharon dropped down next to her.

"Oh dear," said Loki. "Is she dead? Now they're following us. Now they're firing at us!"

"Yes, thank you for the commentary, Loki, it's not at all distracting!" snapped Thor.

The ship flew into a tunnel, its wing hitting a statue. "Well done, you just decapitated your grandfather," said Loki.

And I thought my brother was annoying.


	15. Chapter 15

Ivy here.

"You know this is wonderful!" said Loki. "This a tremendous idea! Let's steal the biggest most obvious ship in the universe and escape in that! Flying around the city, smash it into everything in sight and everyone will see it! It's brilliant Thor! It's truly brillian..."

Thor threw Loki out the front.

I jumped after him, pulling Sharon with me. She shrieked in surprise. I landed hard, then scrambled upright. I had landed in the small boat, where I needed to.

"You okay?" I asked Sharon. She nodded. I offered her a hand and pulled her to her feet.

"I see your time in the dungeon has made you no less graceful, Loki," said Fandral.

Thor landed next to us, carrying Dr. Foster.

"You lied to me. I'm impressed," said Loki, addressing his brother.

Fandral jumped out and Loki took control of the small boat, aiming us toward a large mountain.

"Are you mad?" demanded Thor.

"Possibly."

What did he mean, "possibly"?

We shot toward a tiny tunnel in the mountain. Next to me, Sharon started hyperventilating. I wrapped what I hoped was a reassuring arm around her as we entered the tunnel. A moment later, we were in the Dark Elves' Realm.

"Ta da," said Loki.

Hey, it's Sharon again.

There was silence for a while after we passed between Realms. I sat next to Ivy and Dr. Foster fell asleep.

Ivy pulled something out of her jacket. Her knitting needles and a ball of grey yarn. "Can't believe I still have these," she said with a laugh, and started working.

"The hat you mentioned?"

She nodded. "Carmen recommended the pattern."

I burst out laughing. "We're who knows how far away from home, stuck in a flying boat with three fictional/mythological characters, speeding toward a confrontation with a creepy elf who wants an energy source that was absorbed by one of said fictional characters, and we're talking about knitting."

"Welcome to my life."

"Ivy… I'm sorry. About anything I might have said or done that might have upset you. Before I found out."

"There's nothing to apologize about."

Ivy here.

Time passed as we traveled. Eventually, somehow, Sharon fell asleep. I pulled out the knife that Thor had given me. My blurry reflection stared back at me. I ran a hand through my hair. First thing I'd do when I got home – give it a good brushing. My beautiful red hair had become a bird's nest.

On the other side of the boat, Loki and Thor sat, talking. "What I could do with the power flowing through those veins..." said Loki, eyeing Dr. Foster.

"It would consume you," predicted Thor.

"Her life _will _come to an end."

"Not today!"

"It doesn't matter when! Tomorrow, a year, a hundred years hence? It's a heartbeat. "

"And when her eventual end comes, will it grant you satisfaction?"

"Satisfaction's not in my nature!"

"Surrender's not in mine!"

I curled up, trying not to listen. I know what's like to want to be equal to someone. Believe me, I understand what Loki feels. I closed my eyes and stopped listening.

Loki was going to fake his death and take over Asgard. I could stop him – and yet I couldn't. So much I could do, and so much I couldn't.

Most of you people probably judge me for my choices. And you know what? I don't care. I do what I pray is best, and in the end, if I'm wrong? The time line is the same as it would have been if I wasn't here. After all, I don't belong in the Marvel universe. I'm responsible for helping keep everything running smoothly because of my existence. It's not supposed to be easy.


	16. Chapter 16

Ivy here.

I must have fallen asleep somehow, because eventually a hand shook me awake.

"We've arrived," said Thor.

I stood up, blinking sleep from my eyes.

"You know our plan already, right?"

"Yes. Loki pretends to betray you and slice your hand off in order to keep him from suspecting anything wrong. You get Malekith to remove the Aether from Dr. Foster, then you destroy it." My plan consisted of staying out of trouble and finding Miranda.

Thor, Loki, and Dr. Foster headed toward the edge of the cliff. Sharon and I stayed behind.

I dialed Miranda's number and got her answering machine. My heart began to thud against my ribs. "Miranda, if you're there and you're still breathing, please pick up," I said.

"Hello?" said a small voice.

"Where are you?"

"I'm in a cave. Just outside that place where Malekith and… oh. _Brilliant_."

Sharon and I turned to stare at each other. Sharon cursed. "Well, that's just great," I muttered. "Sharon, please watch your language."

"Sorry," said Sharon, blushing slightly.

"You get way back in the cave and stay there," I ordered. "Don't show yourself, no matter what."

"What are we going to do?" asked Sharon.

In the corner of my eye, something moved. I turned to see one of the Dark Elves.

I lunged forward with the knife. "Run!" I yelled to her. I backed up, keeping the knife between me and the elf. A pathetic defense, really, but the only one I had. Well, actually, there was one more. I turned, ran, and prayed I could outrun it. I never said I was good at coming up with ideas, okay? I caught up with Sharon easily. Behind us, the elf gained.

A hammer flew between us, slamming into the creature.

Thor, Dr. Foster and Loki, stood close to the edge of the cliff. Thor's hand reached out, grabbing his hammer as it returned to him.

"You really can't go anywhere without getting into trouble, can you?" asked Loki.

"Not really," I said.

Thor uncuffed Loki. Loki drove a knife into him. Thor stuck out a hand for his hammer, but Loki sliced his hand off and shoved him over the edge. Thor tumbled down, Dr. Foster running behind him. Not that any of this were a surprise for me.

Then Loki went offscript. He grabbed my arm. "This is for Mother," he hissed in my ear.

I screamed as he pulled me down the slope behind him. He grabbed Dr. Foster and dragged us both toward the Dark Elves.

"Malekith! I am Loki of Jotunheim, and I have brought you a gift!" he yelled, shoving Dr. Foster to the ground and retaining his grip on me. "I only ask for one thing in return; a good seat from which to watch Asgard burn!"

"What is she?" asked Malekith, striding forward and nodding toward me.

"She knows the future."

Malekith ignored Dr. Foster for a moment. He walked up to me, leaning in so close no one else could hear what he said.

"What do you see in my future?"

I wasn't thinking too clearly. "I see you being crushed by your own space ship and suffering a humiliating defeat." I jerked my head forward, right into the freshly injured side of his face. My head jerked backwards into Loki's face. Something snapped – second time I've broken his nose, I think. I didn't waste a second, elbowing Loki hard in the stomach, twisting his fingers to escape his grip. I stomped on his knee and ran, but a hand twisted in my hair, pulling me backwards.

"You made your choice, now accept the consequences," hissed Loki in my ear.


	17. Chapter 17

Ivy here. Still.

Malekith began to extract the Aether from Dr. Foster, keeping his eyes on me. Red filled the air, swirling between them.

Thor was up again, lunging at us, his hand regrown.

Loki dragged me out of the way and pressed a knife against my neck. "You murderer."

"You killed eighty people within two days of your arrival on Earth. What do you call that? You criticize Thor for solving problems with hitting, while you try to destroy or take over planets to solve yours." My hand slipped inside my jacket for the knife.

A scream sounded above us.

I turned to see Sharon being dragged toward us by a Dark Elf.

My fingers closed around the knife. I jerked it out and slashed upwards at the hair which Loki held. I ran forward and threw the knife. It struck the elf in the arm. Sharon twisted free.

I ran toward the elf, pulling a sharp knitting needle from my jacket. A heavy object struck him in the side of the head and he went down. I turned in the direction the rock had come from. Miranda stood at the mouth of a cave. She waved. Miranda might not be the most physically gifted person I've ever met, but her aim is really good.

I turned to look at Loki.

He stared back at me, his fingers still clutching my red hair.

Sharon slammed into me, wrapping his arms around me. Her tears soaked my jacket. I wrapped one arm around Sharon and kept my eyes on Loki, waiting for his next move.

He released my hair, scattering it to the winds, and walked back quietly toward the battle. Weird, but I wasn't going to complain. Maybe he thought he could deal with me later – it wasn't like I could go anywhere.

I crouched, Sharon still clinging to me, and picked up a piece of my hair.

"Your hair," said Sharon.

The wind tugged at the strand of hair. I released it and watched it blow away with the rest. "It's not important."

Miranda ran to us.

I tightly wrapped my arms around both my friends, as if my grip loosened I'd lose them.

Miranda raised a hand to the ends of my hair.

"I needed a haircut anyway," I said.

"It's okay to be upset sometimes."

I let go and took a step back.

Miranda's eyes widened. "Ivy –"

Something struck me hard in the back, knocking me over. I rolled onto my back to see Malekith.

He picked me up by the neck. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Miranda and Sharon running away. Good.

"You can see the future? Tell me what it is."

Sharon and Miranda had vanished – good. "Afraid you'll lose? Because you know what? I come from a world where nearly everyone knows if you lost or won. It's a story there. And guess what? You're a predictably beatable villain who got his thunder stolen by a greasy haired alien with family issues."

He threw me onto the ground. My head smacked hard against the dirt and I saw stars. "What? Don't you like your fortune?" I laughed. Seriously, I laughed. I have no idea what I was thinking. As already established, I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut. "Well, that's the funny thing about knowing the future. You take what happens and deal with it. That's what I do, that's what everyone does."

He kicked me in the side. A couple ribs crunched under his foot. A yell of pain tore from my throat.

Red sparked where ever he touched me, reacting with the blue sparks already traveling over my skin.

The corner of my eye picked up movement – red hair, blowing along in the wind. His gaze moved involuntarily toward it.

I kicked upwards, then drove my other foot into his knee. I jumped to my feet. My ribs screamed in pain and each too-fast breath hurt, but I had a chance now.

I ran.


	18. Chapter 18

Ivy here.

I ran until my legs gave out from under me and I collapsed onto the dark earth, gasping partly for breath and partly from the pain in my ribs. I'd broken stuff before, but this really took the prize for most painful broken bone. I lay on the ground for a minute, taking in how absolutely alone I was. There wasn't a sound to be hear anywhere.

Footsteps crunched in the dirt behind me. Not alone, then.

I didn't get up. If it was someone who wanted to kill me, I didn't have the energy to get up – or to care, really. I wouldn't blame anyone for wanting to do so.

I'm not sure how to describe what happened next. One moment, my face was pressing into the dirt. The next moment, I felt strangely light. Then my face was pressing into cement. I sat up. I was sitting on a sidewalk. In… _London_? "What in the world just happened?" I muttered to myself, standing up.

Someone collided with me. "Oh, sorry, didn't see you there," said a voice. "_Ivy_?"

I turned to stare at the speaker. "_Jack_?"

Jack here.

Yeah, that trip I mentioned? It was to London. Miranda orchestrates these stories to a certain extent. Gives us pointers on what to say and stuff. She says it makes them more interesting. That's why I didn't mention it earlier. Anyhow. "We're on vacation," I said. "I thought you were on Asgard."

"It's a long story."

I took in her appearance. Dark green Asgardian clothes, ripped up and dirty, covered in a grey jacket. One side of her hair was much longer than the other – like you'd expect her hair to look after she sliced it off the way she did. "Do I want to hear it?"

"Not right now. Malekith is probably making plans to attack, I need to…" She paused and leaned against the wall. "I need to just think for a moment. I need to breathe." Something was clearly hurting her. She winced slightly and stood straight.

"What happened?" I asked. "Where's Thor?"

"Nothing that won't heal in six weeks or so." She ignored my second question. "Probably or so," she added with a grimace.

"Broken ribs? I'll go find Mom."

"No. If you do, I'll have about a million things to explain. I'll figure out something."

Sharon here.

We went through the portal alone, me and Miranda, and we walked to the hotel where we'd been staying. It was a _long_ walk, and we walked past some people that gave us some… shall I say, creepy looks. Let's just say I really wished I'd taken karate. Or kickboxing. Or something aside from a one day self defense class when I was ten. Along the way, we cooked up a story to explain our absence. It was a pretty good one, in my opinion.

We made it back to the hotel okay. Ariel sat on a chair in the lobby, going over her music binder. She looked up. "Oh, hi. How was the movie?" She closed the binder. "Where's Ivy?"

Miranda and I glanced at each other.

"She's… uh…" I stumbled over my words, trying to make sense of what in the _world_ was going on. What in multiple worlds, really. "Somewhere. Movie was great. I really thought they'd killed off Loki for a bit there," I managed.

"Yeah, no way they'd kill off Tom Hiddleston. Too good looking to die just yet," she said with a laugh. "Loki's one of the best things Marvel's got going. They won't get rid of him just yet."

All I could honestly call my crush now was absolutely idiotic.

Our chaperone came through the doors behind us. "Where's Ivy? Did she go to her room?"

I shook my head.

The doors opened behind him.

"Jack!" said Miranda. "What are you –"

"Came to see you. I was in the neighborhood."

She raced over to him and started talking to him in a low voice.

"Is something wrong?" asked Ariel.

I shook my head. "No, everything's fine." Here it was, anyhow.


	19. Chapter 19

Ivy here.

Just as I was trying to figure out what to do, my cell phone rang. I answered it.

"Hi, Ivy," said Agent Ward. "You just popped on a security camera in London. What happened to you?"

"It's complicated."

There were voices on the other end of the phone. "Ivy, this is Agent Coulson," said a new voice. "How did you get back to Earth?"

"I honestly don't know." I described what had happened. The only people that would have been there would be Loki and maybe some elves. I sincerely doubted either would want to help me. Maybe it was the Doctor?

"Are you injured in any way?"

I hesitated. "Broken ribs. The king of the Dark Elves wasn't pleased when I told him what was going to happen. Granted, my head butting him probably didn't help his mood."

"The king of the _what_? And you told him what was going to happen?"

"Just that he was going to lose." Though it could make a hug difference. Either he could give up of his own accord and go away, or he might try harder or come up with a new plan. I really, really hoped neither happened. If he ran away, we'd have to deal with him later. If he came up with a new plan, things could go very, very badly. What had I been thinking?

"We already have some agents there. We can send someone to get you out of there and to get you medical attention. I'll have one sent now."

I don't particularly trust anyone from S.H.I.E.L.D. who I don't already know. A lot of higher ups in the organization are not particularly happy with that fact that I'm allowed to walk around free, and I didn't trust them not to try to change that. In this case, though, I rather doubted I had much of a choice than to do as Agent Coulson said.

I stepped into an alley to wait.

Footsteps sounded nearby.

A woman with brown hair, wearing a red dress and a very confused expression, approached. She didn't look like a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. It couldn't be... Clara Oswald, could it? From _Dr Who_?

"Hello? The Doctor says I'm supposed to give this to Ivy Williams? I was told she'd be standing right here."

Yup, Clara Oswald.

She handed me an envelope. "How do you know him?"

"Oh, he visited me in a dream," I said, ripping open the envelope.

"_What_?"

"It's complicated. I've met him in person since. It's a long story involving inter-dimensional travel, a team of superheroes, and breaking my bones at various times – among other things."

The letter read as follows.

Ivy,

Sorry I haven't come and given you a proper explanation. Busy, you know, and I can't come to that point in time and space, might run into my past self, long story. You and me are going on vacation after you've finished up this adventure. Anywhere you'd like to go in time or space is yours to visit. I sent your friends back to their proper universe while they were on their way home, I didn't think you would want them in harm's way.

The Doctor

I folded the paper up. "You should probably get out of London immediately. Stuff's about to happen."

"Right, thank you." She turned to leave, then glanced back. "Clara Oswald, by the way."

"Ivy Williams."


	20. Chapter 20

Jack here.

I sank down, my back to the wall. Sharon, Miranda and I had found a place to spend some time and talk. "Are you okay?" I asked. "Anything injured?"

Miranda looked up from the notebook she was writing in. She tucked her pencil behind her ear and shook her head. "I do need a shower and something to eat, but that's all."

"So… you saw Loki's death?"

"No. I was hiding in a cave. Besides, he isn't dead." She reached around on the ground for something, probably thinking she'd left her pencil on the ground.

"What's that behind your ear?" I asked, pulling it out. "Whoops, thought it was a quarter." Yes, I'm aware that it was a really dumb joke.

She smiled for the first time since I'd seen her, laughed, and took it back, bending her head over the notebook again. "There's something I don't get," she said. "They said the Dark Elves have been around since before the universe. If the universe didn't exist, then nothing existed, therefore, they couldn't have been there yet."

Miranda _would_ notice that. "That's probably just a legend or something," I offered.

She nodded in agreement and bent back over her notebook. "I've got it!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "Ivy told me that her ability to transport other people comes from touching them when they've got the particular story on their mind. The energy reacts and takes them there due to… well, she didn't exactly say. Ivy's never been too big on science – or details. But what if the energy comes off when she touches objects? Maybe that's why we ended up here. Somehow, Sharon or me touched something that Ivy had, and we managed to transport ourselves back here."

"Don't even think about going back to help her. She'd probably kill us if we did. She's got enough to deal with already. If she knew some of the things you didn't tell her…" I cut myself off – Miranda knew what I was talking about, Sharon didn't need to. Those of you who've heard our _Iron Man 3_ recording, you know what I'm talking about

"I know, but we can't just leave her!"

"We don't have to," offered Sharon. "We can pray."

I glanced to Miranda.

"Yes," she said. "That seems like a very good plan."

Ivy here.

While I was waiting, I actually finished that hat, not really knowing what else to do. Granted, my stitching was terrible, and Carmen would have been horrified at the way I seamed it up – using a knitting needle and creating some big holes in the back of the hat. But it covered up my tattered hair, so I pulled it on.

I figured out that the attack was about to start when I tried to cross the street and Darcy almost ran me over with a van… again.

"Sorry!" yelled Darcy from the front seat. Her eyes widened on seeing me. "You again?"

"Hi. If we're going to keep running into each other, figure we might as well exchange names. I'm Ivy."

"Darcy. And this is Ian," she said, gesturing to her passenger.

In the distance, something dark appeared. My heart started racing. I pulled out my knife and ripped a long slit in my dress. I'd need to be able to move around freely, whatever happened next.

The ship moved even closer toward us. Screams sounded nearby. Director Fury once told me that every time I came to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention, something got destroyed. New York, the Bus… now London. I don't exactly _choose_ for this stuff to happen, okay? I just happen to be here when it does. A S.H.I.E.L.D. base seemed like a really good place to be right now. A really, really good place. As in amazing. Unfortunately, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent hadn't shown up yet.

A wall of red slammed into me, sending me flying through the air. I landed hard, rolling backwards on instinct to lessen the impact and put more distance between me and Malekith. You really start missing the amount of freedom wearing pants gives you once you have to do lots of physical activity in a skirt.

Malekith was after me at once. He grabbed for my hair, only for the few short strands he'd managed to catch to rip off in his hand as I jerked my head away.

He grabbed my arms. "You're going to tell me how to win."

"Not a chance." I drove my knee into him and twisted one arm away.

His hand shot out, his fingers wrapping around my windpipe. I clawed at his hand.

A knife point emerged from his shoulder. He turned slightly, his grip loosening.

Sharon was climbing to her feet behind us, face white. In one hand, she held a knife. "Like she said. Not a chance."


	21. Chapter 21

Sharon here.

I kind of slipped away while Jack and Miranda were praying, just planning to get something to eat then return. Miranda's theory works, by the way. I think it was my scarf that did it. I'd gotten teleported out of the hotel while I was making myself a sandwich, which is where the knife came from.

I stabbed at him with the knife. He sidestepped and knocked the knife out of my hand, letting go of Ivy's throat. She grabbed his pointy ear a second later, yanking him backward, kicking at the backs of his knees.

"You'll never take over the universe," she said. "There's light. Deal with it."

A blast of red blew us both back. "I will have revenge!" he yelled.

Ivy was on her feet in a moment. "Not while I'm still breathing, you won't."

He grabbed her throat again. The Tesseract blue sparks traveling up and down her body began to increase, mixing with the red. Her eyes flashed between Tesseract blue and their natural shade. Red and blue mixed, battling. Purple exploded from around them. They both blew apart and flew backward. Malekith vanished.

Ivy sat up, groaning, and ran to me. "Are you okay?" She didn't wait for my reply. "How'd you get here?"

Before I could reply, Thor smashed down on the pavement next to us.

Ivy turned and ran.

Ivy here.

I know what you're all thinking. Yes, I am a coward.

When Thor came down next to us, my first thought was that he wanted some kind of revenge. So yes, I ran. It's a useful tactic to use when you're outmatched in a fight. A moment later, Malekith came down into the pavement in front of me. He grinned and grabbed my neck – not quite cutting off all my air, just enough to make it unpleasant. A red glow surrounded us, flickering with purple and light blue.

"The Tesseract power combines with the Aether to cause an incredible reaction," he said. "An explosion, big enough to destroy this pathetic planet."

"I don't have Tesseract power." But Loki had used a Tesseract powered staff on me… maybe a little of it had remained?

I clawed at Malekith's hand, catching hold of his fingers and twisting them. The glowing in my veins grew brighter as I twisted, my heart rate increasing. I caught a glimpse of Thor outside, swinging his hammer against the Aether and bouncing off. If the explosion were big enough to take out this planet, wouldn't it be big enough to destroy the Aether, too?

We teleported suddenly, into the area where the final battle took place.

The blue sparks grew from my skin grew, expanding to the red cloud. The colors blurred purple.

Malekith released me. "How…"

I didn't know, and I didn't care.

Red exploded from around us.

Thor's hammer flew through the Aether. Without me even thinking about it, my fingers closed around it.

It wouldn't matter what happened to Malekith for this timeline. Just that he was defeated. The sparks and energy increased a hundred times, a thousand times. I closed my eyes. Come on, come on… The storm cloud grew.

"You'll destroy this planet," said Malekith.

I kept my grip on the hammer and walked forward. Sharon had described how she'd made it here and why she thought it had worked…

I put my hand into the red and blue. Instantly, the sparks began to spread over me. I thought about the empty Svartalfheim. The pain spreading up my body was intense. I focused all my thoughts on that empty planet.

And then the burning vanished. As did Malekith and the Aether.

The hammer dropped from my hand and I collapsed onto the ground. My skin stopped sparking and began to fade back to its normal color. Everything went black.


	22. Chapter 22

Ivy here.

I woke up lying on a table, my skin full of tubes and needles.

"Finally!" said a female voice. "Ivy, can you hear me?"

I recognized Jemma Simmons's voice and groaned. Not because of her, I like her – I groaned because I felt like I'd just been hit by a truck. Several trucks. On the bright side, my skin wasn't glowing any more.

"You made us all _very_ nervous for a few days," said Agent Simmons. "I nearly thought we'd lost you a few times."

I sat up slowly. I lay on a table in the lab on the Bus. My Asgardian dress was gone, replaced with a white hospital gown, but my hat lay on a nearby table.

Agent Coulson entered. "You're up. How are you feeling?"

"About how you'd expect. What happened? Why did I stop glowing?"

"We think that the Aether and the Tesseract, plus Thor's lighting, all reacting and exploding together made it burn off, somehow. Agent Simmons, could you please leave? I have a few questions for Ivy."

She left.

"Our medical facilities at our base in London were busy enough as it was, so we brought you here," said Agent Coulson. "We didn't think you wanted more people to know about you than necessary."

"No, I didn't. Thanks."

"What happened, exactly? On Asgard and here. We haven't been able to quite put all the pieces together, and you're probably the only person here who can."

"I don't think you want to know exactly what I allowed to happen up there."

"Can you give me some kind of… summary?"

I took a deep breath. "Agent Coulson… I think… do you want all the details?"

"If you're willing to tell them to me."

Something inside me needed to tell him. Needed to tell someone.

I gave him the whole story, leaving out nothing, not even the bit about picking up Thor's hammer – well, except for the bit about Loki being alive. And also my meeting with Clara. I didn't think that would matter, and I didn't want to bring her to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention.

Agent Coulson said nothing as the story unfolded. He said nothing after I finished, either, for a moment.

"I think you're missing something," he said at the end. "You talk about how terrible you feel about what you've done, about how you don't know if you're doing the right thing. But you picked up Thor's hammer. Only those who are worthy who can pick up Thor's hammer. If you were deemed worthy enough to pick it up, then I don't think you're as horrible a person as you think you are. No matter how you feel about what you're doing, you believe it's the right thing."

He had a point, which my mind had been too preoccupied to pick up on. I had picked up Thor's hammer. Something had judged me worthy of picking it up.

Either whatever did the determining had really lousy criteria, or I was doing something right. "Thank you."


	23. Chapter 23

Hi, this is Miranda.

Sharon flopped down on the hotel bed. "I am so glad that's over."

She'd quietly re-entered the room about an hour ago. After she'd told me the story about everything that had happened, she'd gotten cleaned up.

I nodded and handed her a granola bar. "Yeah. Agent Coulson called while you were in the shower, by the way, said they'd be keeping Ivy for a few days to make sure there's nothing dangerous left in her system, but that she'll come home with us. In both universes, it seems to be that she's in the hospital because she fell and hit her head."

She tore off the wrapper greedily and bit in. "Don't Mr. and Mrs. Williams get suspicious when she comes home beat up all the time?" she asked with her mouth full.

"Probably."

A knock sounded on the door and Ariel came in. The high heels of her shoes tapped on the floor as she crossed the room.

She sank onto the bed beside Sharon., who was already halfway through the granola bar. "I can't believe they won't let us see Ivy or even tell us where she is! You'd think that the chaperones would be allowed access to that kind of information. You should have heard Mrs. Williams yelling at the director on the phone. I think she's going to make Ivy leave choir after this. She was _so_ mad."

I glanced over at Sharon.

"You guys have been acting weird ever since you went to that movie. This there something wrong?" asked Ariel.

"No, no. We're fine," said Sharon.

"Sharon, you're the worst liar I've ever met."

"Apparently you've never seen Ivy try to lie," I said. "It's absolutely horrendous."

"I wouldn't know, I've never seen her try." Ariel pulled out her music and started going over it again. "Where's Jack, by the way?"

"Oh, he left already with his mom," I said.

"Too bad. He's pretty good looking, isn't he?"

"I've never thought about it," I honestly replied. "He's my friend, why would I want to change that? Why? Have you got your eye on him?"

Ariel's cheeks turned slightly pink. "I'm too busy for that. With acting and singing –"

"Unless he's an actor or singer type," said Sharon with a grin. "Like Edward – what's his last name?" She put the last bite of the granola bar in her mouth.

Ariel's cheeks turned even pinker. "He's very nice, yes, but I'm busy."

I'm actually pretty sure Edward has a _major_ crush on Ivy, but I can see why Ariel would like him. He gets the door for girls and he's nice to everybody. I don't know if Ivy is even aware he exists, which is a shame, because I always see Edward staring after her in the halls and I'm pretty sure she'd like him if she met him. She might not be interested in him like that, but at the very least she'd think he's a nice guy. I'll have to introduce them somehow...

"Edward moved here a few weeks after you did, Sharon, didn't he?" I asked.

"Yeah. Both our dads work at the same company. I've met him. He's nice."

"Is he from Canada too?" asked Ariel.

Sharon shook her head. "I think he's from Oregon or something."

Such normal things to talk about after what had happened. Boys, crushes. I nearly laughed aloud at how ridiculous it was. This was what we'd do if everything was normal.

But everything was normal again, finally. For now.


	24. Chapter 24

Ivy here, still.

I spent a few days in the lab before Agent Simmons was willing to let me out. Skye came to see me a lot while I was in there.

Her first reaction to seeing me was absolute horror.

"Ivy! Your… hair. What happened to it?"

"I cut it off," I replied from my position on my back. "It was too long."

"I wouldn't recommend doing it yourself next time."

"Wasn't planning on it." With it being cut off on an angle and my not having showered in a few days, it probably looked pretty bad.

She didn't ask me about what I'd done. She talked to me about my friends – Sharon had gone back to the hotel, and she and Miranda had been left alone. Jack had left London with his mom. She talked to me about my family – no explanation had really been required except for that I'd been hurt and couldn't come home immediately after the attack on New York. They wanted to talk to me and would be permitted to once Simmons allowed me to get up and walk around – and finished running a few tests on residual energy from the Aether and the Tesseract. I had specifically asked her about it. If I had any sort of that stuff in my system, I wanted to know about it. Fortunately, the tests all came up negative.

Agents Ward and May stopped in to see me once or twice too. Those visits weren't particularly conversational. For the most part, they would ask me a few questions about how I was doing and then leave.

Fitz and Simmons, of course, were regular fixtures. At any given time, one of them was in the room. Usually they tried to make conversation while they worked on something. Mostly I just listened to them talk.

And, of course, Skye was there whenever she could be.

"Did you see Thor while he was here?" asked Skye at one point.

I nodded. He probably hated my guts right now.

"Is he as good looking in person?"

I shrugged. I'd never had much interest in boys. "I guess?"

"You _guess_?"

"I'm not really the sort of girl who pays much attention to guys. And Thor's not really my type." For those of you who are just dying to know, Captain America's more my type. I'm not into bad boys. "Besides, I have a very long list of things I would need in any guy who I end up with, and he doesn't fit enough of them. And, on top of all that, Thor's taken. He's got a girlfriend."

Skye's face fell slightly. "What's on the list?"

I'll spare you the entire list – most of it was stuff concerning my special ability and his willingness to deal with that.

Skye's eyes widened as she heard it. "You're _never_ going to find a guy who fits all that."

I shrugged. "Probably not. But if I don't find someone who can deal with my life, then it's probably best he doesn't spend the rest of it with me." This is, of course, _if_ I actually find someone I want to spend the rest of it with.

Skye considered this. "Do you ever want to go back? To when you didn't have all of this?"

I nodded. "Every second of every day."


	25. Chapter 25

Ivy here.

I had fallen asleep for a few minutes in the main area of the Bus and woke up to a hand shaking me.

"Time to go," said a voice. "Before they figure out that their security footage is on a loop."

My eyes shot open and fixed on a man with red brown hair. "Doctor?"

In the middle of the room was a blue police box.

I got up and followed him inside the box. "Hello again," said Clara from by the TARDIS console.

"Well, where to first?" asked the Doctor.

I swallowed. "Asgard, please. There's something I need to do. I need to speak with – " here I barely cut myself off from saying Loki – "Odin. Alone."

He frowned, but threw a lever. The TARDIS took off. I grabbed a railing for support. The TARDIS landed hard, causing me to nearly fall. I righted myself in time.

"All right. You're in the throne room," said the Doctor. "Alone, as requested. What are you going to do?"

"Something I should have done a long time ago." I stepped out of the TARDIS and toward the throne.

Loki/Odin raised an eyebrow at me and stood. "You _dare_ show up here?"

"I need to talk to Loki."

"Loki is dead."

I shook my head. "No. I need to talk to Loki."

The illusions dropped away, revealing him in his green armor. "I suppose you want an apology," said Loki. "You'll be waiting a while."

"No, I don't you want you to say you're sorry. I want you to listen."

He seemed to consider for a moment. "All right. Go ahead."

"First, I want to say that I'm genuinely sorry about everything that's happened. And that if it had avoidable in any way, believe me, I would have taken that route. But that's not why I'm here. We didn't exactly get off on the right foot. You took control of my mind and tried to make me do something terrible. You, basically, ruined my life." The last year and a half of my life had something of a nightmare which I wanted nothing better than to wake up from. "And the thing is… it was my own fault I couldn't heal. Because I hated you. I'm a Christian, I'm supposed to forgive, but… I didn't. The hate just ate away at me. And that's why I'm here, to ask your forgiveness. For not forgiving you sooner."

For once, he seemed to be without words. Clearly, he hadn't expected that speech. He stared at me in shock. "I…" He sat back down on the throne. "What do you want?"

"Only what I asked for and nothing more." The bitterness had eaten away at me for a year and a half. It was more than time to let go.

He walked toward me, still seeming to be lost for words.

"I've told no one you're alive," I said. "And I won't, either. Please, forgive me."

There was more silence.

"I… forgive you," said Loki, seeming more confused than anything.

"Thank you," I said, and walked back to the TARDIS.

As I reached the door, a thought occurred to me. I stopped and turned around. "It was you, wasn't it? You sent me back to London, didn't you?"

He froze momentarily, then laughed. "Now, why would I have done that?"

"There was no one else who could have done it except for you."

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

I didn't have to understand the why. Maybe some small part of himself, deep down, had wanted to do something good. Had known why I needed to do what I did and had forgiven me. I don't know. It felt as if some huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders, as if I was, for the first time in forever, free. "Thank you."


End file.
